What I learned from my hydrangeas...

I love hydrangeas.
They are so beautiful.
They only bloom once a year....

To my sadness my hydrangeas in the backyard have not bloomed for a year. I couldn't figure it out. Too much sun? Maybe, my husband is the gardener not me...so I couldn't tell you what's wrong...but I look at them often....

I just enjoy looking at our garden and plants and stand in awe of God's beautiful creation.

This year The Lord taught me a lesson...

I looked at the plant and noticed a bloom! (remember they did not bloom last year...so it's actually been 2 years)

Just one bloom....the week of Mother's day ! I felt it was a bloom just for me.

What's different?
Same location
Same soil
Same amount of sunshine

What gives? Why did this plant bloom now and not last year?

The Answer- a lot of water. A constant drip. Water drops every day....

What I realized is as my son Isaac plays in the backyard, he constantly turns on the waterhose. The spout is not fully snug to the hose so the water drips directly into the hydrangeas.

The hotter it is outside, the more water play for Isaac.
The more water play, the more the hydrangeas are watered.

Jesus said if we abide in Him and His Word abides in us we will produce much fruit. Not some fruit but MUCH fruit.

JOHN 15:5

I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me you can do nothing. (Amplified Bible)


Here's the lesson I learned (and am still learning)

The hydrangeas were watered daily.
My son turned on the hose and the hydrangeas directly benefited from the water drops day in and day out.

This is the same as we drink of the living water- Jesus-- drinking water daily.
The water symbolizes:
Reading the Bible - daily
Praying - daily
fellowship/relationship/accountability - daily
thanking God- daily
Praising Him- daily
listening to Godly Bible teaching- daily

Sound monotonous?

No way!
Does your body need water daily? Of course.
In fact we need to drink water every few hours or we'll dehydrate.
Do I want to hear "I love you" from my spouse daily? Of course
Do I want to tell my spouse and children "I love you" and pray with them daily? Of course.

When my husband and I were newly married we frequently discussed this.

How do I know if my life is "bearing fruit?"

We decided to check in with each other and discuss to see how The Lord was working in our hearts and lives and what evidence of "fruit" could be seen.

Frankly, both of us felt disappointed.

We aren't living in the mission field, we aren't serving full time ministry, we are just two people married in college trying to build a life together. We love Jesus and learn more about God in our daily Bible reading but in the "fruit" area back in our early years....we felt like the green hydrangea plant, green yes, alive yes, but no real solid fruit or colorful flowers.

Well we were young and did not understand what fruit was and what fruit IS.

First, Galatians 5:22-23 teaches us the FRUIT of the Spirit is love, joy peace longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self control. Not FRUITS of the Spirit "Fruit"- singular. Love is the primary Fruit of the Spirit. Love is what our lives should reveal ...when we are abiding in the vine we should have an ever increasing evidence of love for God and love for His people.

A few months ago my honey and I had a talk and he said I can tell you are more in love with The Lord than when we first got married (16 years ago). He said and the reason is because you are in your Bible....

That's fruit!

When your child is being bratty and you hold your cool- THAT'S FRUIT
When you apologize first to your spouse instead of holding a grudge, that's fruit.
When you let go of the hurt that brother or sister "did you wrong" in the church and he/she was never called out...and you can pray for him/her with out any bad feelings, that's fruit
When someone gives you a call for a need and you PRAY FIRST talk to God about it before saying yes to the invitation, that's fruit.
When you turn off your phone and give your child all your attention and love on him, that's fruit.
When you wake up in the morning hungry to read the Word of God, that's fruit.
When you give and love someone without expecting anything in return, that's fruit.

Bottom line.

Like the hydrangeas in my backyard.... Drip drip drip.  It was watered a little bit every day for 365 days.
Consistency. Not religion or compulsion...but a daily intentional decision of the will to stay close to the vine, to get the water the branches so desperately need to bloom and reveal "Fruit."
Staying connected to the vine, thirsty for Living Water, staying thirsty for Jesus AND the Holy Spirit and seeking to magnify the Father's name you'll look back 16 years later and say wow Lord. I didn't do anything really. I just sat there being a plant and obediently read your Word, the Scriptures and lo and behold...BEAUTY brightly colored hydrangeas. Brightly radiant oranges, apples pomegranates! Fruit!

The fruit of Love will be produced in you as you stay connected to the water source of God's Word.
So you might think but I don't have 2 hours to sit and have a devotion.
I get it.
But do you have 5 minutes?
10?
15?
Just like the hydrangeas received just a few drips every day...it mattered.
"Every second you give to God is important" David Trujillo.

As you sit and drink, you'll notice you WANT MORE. You want to spend more time. You want to pray more. You want to talk about God with your spouse. You want to listen to Worship.
Drip, drip, drip.
You are staying close to the vine and you are staying hydrated.
Guess what else?
Hydrangeas are needy. It needs a lot of water and just the right amount of partial shade to bloom.
Just like us.
We are needy.
We can't hang in the heat of the day.
We need our shade, our refuge Jesus to shelter us.

Thank you Lord for teaching me through those gorgeous pinkish-purplish hydrangeas how much I need you! I thirst for you and I SO desire to bear fruit, MUCH fruit for you!